Our Blog | Teach Write

Sep 10, 2019
2 min

Creating a Safe Space for Classroom Writing

You may remember Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs from your teacher training. This hierarchy, shaped like a pyramid, reminds us that humans must have certain needs met before they can actualize others. At the base of the pyramid are the basic, life-giving needs: food, shelter, water, etc., followed by safety and community. Without these things, other growth needs cannot be met: self-actualization, confidence, creativity and so on. Photo source: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is

Jennifer Laffin

Jul 25, 2019
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {7.27.19}

Welcome to the July 27, 2019 edition of The Teach Write Writing Round-Up, a gathering of tips for teaching writing and for growing as a teacher who writes. I find the tips so you don't have to, so be sure to sign up to have The Writing Round-Up and all of our other updates delivered right to your inbox if you haven't already. Now, on to this week's tips! Assistive Technology for Writing: Don't let your students' physical struggles with writing keep them from writing. Check ou

Jennifer Laffin

Dec 19, 2018
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {12.22.18}

Welcome to the December 22, 2018 edition of The Writing Round-Up, a gathering of tips for teaching writing and for growing as a teacher who writes. Enjoy this edition of the Writing Round-Up? We would love it if you would share it with your friends or on your social media. Thank you for supporting us! Be sure to check out the bottom of this post for information about our big year-end wrap-up happening next week! Now, on to this week's Round-Up! Start your 2019 writing year of

Jennifer Laffin

Nov 13, 2018
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {11.17.18}

Welcome to the November 17, 2018 edition of The Writing Round-Up, a gathering of tips for teaching writing and for growing as a teacher writer. We appreciate you stopping by. If you are at NCTE this weekend, don't forget about our #TeachWrite Meetup and Notebook Exchange at 4:30pm on Saturday. To find out where we will meet, sign up for our Remind and we will send a text message. Whether you are a teacher of writers or a teacher who writes, we've found some great tips for you

Jennifer Laffin

Oct 26, 2018
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {10.27.18}

Welcome to the October 27, 2018 edition of The Writing Round-Up, a gathering of tips for teaching writing and for growing as a teacher writer. Are you headed to NCTE in Houston next month? If you are, we hope you will join us at a #TeachWrite writing meetup and notebook exchange on Saturday, November 17. The time and date is still TBD, but you can sign up for a text reminder and we will let you know when we figure it all out. Whether you are a teacher of writers or a teacher

Jennifer Laffin

Sep 20, 2018
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {9.22.18}

Welcome to the September 22, 2018 edition of The Writing Round-Up, a gathering of tips for teaching writing and for growing as a teacher writer. Thanks for stopping by! The Many Ways to Use Writing Prompts: Many of us turn to writing prompts for a daily spark for our (or our students'!) writing. But prompts can be so much more. Enjoy "Creative Writing Prompts: The Complete Guide" from Standout Books. How to Teach Writing Process: Students best learn about the writing process

Jennifer Laffin

Jul 26, 2018
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {7.28.18}

Welcome to the July 28, 2018 edition of The Writing Round-Up, a gathering of tips for teaching writing and for growing as a teacher-writer yourself. We appreciate you stopping by! For those of you who are attending the National Writing Project's Midwest Conference in Madison, WI next Saturday (8/4), stop by and say "Hello!" at one of my sessions. I am presenting with Andy Schoenborn and Paula Bourque on The Power of Writing for Authentic Audiences on Saturday, 8/4 at 10:30 am

Jennifer Laffin

Jun 22, 2018
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {6.23.18}

Welcome to the June 23, 2018 edition of The Writing Round-Up, our gathering of tips for teaching writing and for growing as a writer yourself. Thanks for stopping by! For Teachers of Writers Where To Begin? If your students avoid starting writing because they claim they don't know what to write about, Allan Wright has some tips for you in his post, "Helping Our Young Writers Discover the Words They Need to Begin." "I'm Not a Writer": Why do some students get all the way throu

Jennifer Laffin

Mar 30, 2018
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {3.31.18}

Welcome to the March 31, 2018 edition of The Writing Round-Up, a gathering of tips for teaching writing and for growing as a writer yourself. We are glad you are here! For Teachers of Writers Blast Through Writing Instruction Roadblocks: Are you ready to ramp up your writing instruction? Don't know what's holding your students back from growing as writers? Brian Kissel has some tips for you in his ASCD Educational Leadership journal article, "Six Roadblocks to Writing Instruc

Three Reasons Why Your Students (and YOU!) Need a Writing Tribe

Jennifer Laffin

Jan 10, 2018
2 min

Three Reasons Why Your Students (and YOU!) Need a Writing Tribe

Writing can be a solitary experience. It is often just the writer and their words. But it doesn’t have to be that way — and I would argue that it shouldn’t be that way. Becoming a part of a tribe — a dedicated group that shares the same interests or focus and support in a safe, nurturing way — is what’s missing from the lives of many writers. Take a minute to think about your student-writers. Who do they connect with while working on their writing? Who do they go to to ask qu

Jennifer Laffin

Dec 3, 2017
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {12.03.17}

Welcome to the December 3, 2017 edition of The Writing Round-Up, a gathering of some of our favorite tips for teachers of writers and teachers who write. Thank you for stopping by this week. Let's dive in! For Teachers of Writers Teaching Students to TAG: If you are looking for a way to help your students to support each others as writers, consider teaching them how to TAG. More information can be found here. Showing the Way: When we set out on a road trip, we will often get

Jennifer Laffin

Nov 19, 2017
2 min

The Writing Round-Up (11.19.17)

Welcome to another week of the Writing Round-Up, our gathering of tips for teaching writing and being a teacher who writes. We spent a few days this past week at the NCTE Annual Convention in St. Louis and were lucky to connect with other educators and thought leaders who are passionate about writing and literacy. We highly recommend this amazing learning experience! Now, on to this week's Round-Up... For Teachers of Writers Storytelling Tips from Pixar: Looking for something

Jennifer Laffin

Nov 12, 2017
3 min

The Writing Round-Up {11.12.17}

Welcome to this week's edition of the Writing Round-Up! We are getting super excited to head to St. Louis for the NCTE Annual Convention next week to take in all the amazingness that is literacy. Will you be there? Tweet us at @TeachWriteEDU and let us know! We've got a great Writing Round-Up for you this week so let's get started: For Teachers of Writers A New Form of Writing: We've seen the annotated-list headlines everywhere: Seven Ways to Start Your Day, Ten Books Your Cl

Editing & Revision: Defining the Difference

Jennifer Laffin

Oct 22, 2017
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {10.22.17}

Welcome back to the Writing Round-Up, a collection of some of our favorite finds about teaching writing and being a teacher who writes. We hope are ready to dive into some new learning because we've got some good things to share this week. Let's get started! For Teachers of Writers Who Are Your Students Writing For?: As a writer, keeping my audience in the forefront of my mind shapes the writing I do and motivates me to do my best work. Do students have this same opportunity?

Considering the Audience: Who Are Your Students Writing For?

Jennifer Laffin

Sep 24, 2017
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {9.24.17}

Welcome to the September 24th, 2017 edition of the Writing Round-Up! I'm so glad you are here this week. I've found some awesome tips and articles that I can't wait to share with you so let's get started: For Teachers of Writers What Hummingbirds Can Teach Us About Conferring: Conferring with student writers can sometimes be a bit overwhelming. Patty McGee, author of the awesome book, Feedback That Moves Writers Forward, shares some more tips for conferring that she discovere

Jennifer Laffin

Sep 10, 2017
2 min

The Writing Round-Up {9.10.17}

Welcome to the September 10, 2017 edition of The Writing Round-Up, a gathering of some of our favorite tips for teaching writing and being a teacher-writer. Thank you to everyone who joined us for the #TeachWrite chat on Twitter this past Monday. I certainly walked away inspired and hope you did too! Mark your calendar for our October chat on 10/2 at 7:30 pm ET. Let's get started with this week's Round-Up... For Teachers of Writers New to Writing Workshop? If you are new to w

Treasure Chests: A Gathering Place for Writing

Jennifer Laffin

Sep 6, 2017
3 min

Treasure Chests: A Gathering Place for Writing

The beginning of the year is crazy busy for teachers everywhere so I’m here to remind you that now is a good time to set up a system for saving your students’ writing throughout the year. In my classroom, we used Treasure Chests: a manilla folder that was stored in a plastic milk crate in the writing center. Each student had their own folder which they decorated with drawings of things that were important to them or however they wanted. (Of course, what this looks like will v

TEACH WRITE

Helping Teachers Grow as Writers So Their Students Can Too

Creating a Safe Space for Classroom Writing

The Writing Round-Up {7.27.19}

The Writing Round-Up {12.22.18}

The Writing Round-Up {11.17.18}

The Writing Round-Up {10.27.18}

The Writing Round-Up {9.22.18}

The Writing Round-Up {7.28.18}

The Writing Round-Up {6.23.18}

The Writing Round-Up {3.31.18}

Three Reasons Why Your Students (and YOU!) Need a Writing Tribe

The Writing Round-Up {12.03.17}

The Writing Round-Up (11.19.17)

The Writing Round-Up {11.12.17}

Five Myths About Teaching Writing

Editing & Revision: Defining the Difference

The Writing Round-Up {10.22.17}

Considering the Audience: Who Are Your Students Writing For?

The Writing Round-Up {9.24.17}

The Writing Round-Up {9.10.17}

Treasure Chests: A Gathering Place for Writing